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Answers to WTFWTK 2.64!

Mattel has once again provided answers to your questions.
Thanks again to them for taking the time to answer these!
Check out their answers to your Round 64 questions!

This round of questions were selected by Nikki.
Thanks to that fan for their help!

-------------------

1. grenadaspice:
Why the choice of making Shadow Weaver the 2012 club exclusive when it was originally said that the club figure would never be an "important" figure in the MOTU universe, hence previous figs such as Wun-Dar and Preternia Disguise He-Man?

Scott (Toyguru) answered this live at the Mattypalooza panel. When we acquired the license for Filmation character we really wanted to not only get a Filmation character into the 2012 line, but we wanted to have one at SDCC. Because we did not want to knock off Sorceress, Fisto or Kobra K, the sub spot became the one that could be swapped. We talked this over in detail with management and the Horsemen and while we knew this would cause some feedback from the fans, we all agreed that the Filmation announcement was so important to fans that we wanted a powerful visual to go with it. Yes this is different from the approach we took with previous sub figures but that is what is great about the MOTUC line, while we have a road map, it is more of a river that can change direction as new characters become available. We are in no way locked into one thing or another outside of keeping all the figures in the same “classic” style look for a unified line.

2. zodak74:
It is quite exciting to see the multi-pack slot being used for something other than Army Builder sets. Now that we have Filmation figures coming up, would Mattel consider offering us Shokoti & Lord Masque as a two-pack subscription slot? Or perhaps something like Madame Razz, Broom & a Twigget or two as a multi-pack set? With so many Filmation characters, this would be a great way to get more out there in a shorter amount of time!

It certainly is possible. The army builder/beast slots are for doing creative executions above the 20.00 basic figure price point. A lot depends on tooling but we are exploring a lot of options.

3. Staff Of Ka:
Were Marlenas cartoon eyes a homage to the Filmation rights? And will we get a MOTUC painted version of her eyes at some point?

Not in the least. The eyes were a bit less on model then we would have liked compared to the Horsemen paintmaster. (better on the Queen head) But this was not done to make her look more animated. Also there is not a new release planned at this time. This is a good example of fans reading a bit too much into things and drawing their own conclusions.

4. Niki:
The Filmation designs were more simple and symetrical so they could be used for different scenes and maybe to mirror them for other scenes. Will the Four Horsemen break that up a bit and give the characters more details and personal touches?

Shadow Weaver is a perfect example. All of the characters from Filmation will be done in “Classics” style. We do not have the resources at this time to do a separate animated line which would require a lot more tooling.

From Toyguru:

“As a second example, let’s look at, oh, I don’t know, lets say “Icer”. If you look at his Filmation design it is similar to He-Man in terms of the belt and crotch piece having no circle details on it. Yet the MOTUC He-Man does have circle details. If we did Icer in MOTUC he would get translated from animated style into MOTUC style and get the same furry shorts/circle detail belt that He-Man has. Hope that helps!”

5. TheFallen:
I am a big fan of the bios but there are plenty of fans that feel strongly against them. Some fans offer suggestions or comments of certain changes to story lines all the time. Has fan input, comments and suggestions changed the bios in any way or is the story still the same story you started 3 years ago?

Creating a story line that 1: referenced as many previous (and often contradictory) stories as possible and 2: justified the greatest number of characters (hence toys) as possible was no easy task. In no way did we expect this to please everyone. While we have made slight “clarifications” to some upcoming bios on things that confused fans or were misinterpreted, we have no intention of changing the general direction of the story. That would make what was a difficult task even more trying! Think of the story as complete, it just hasn’t all been fully published yet. Fans comments are great, but we are not changing the story and bios based on them.

3. Staff Of Ka:
Were Marlenas cartoon eyes a homage to the Filmation rights? And will we get a MOTUC painted version of her eyes at some point?

Not in the least. The eyes were a bit less on model then we would have liked compared to the Horsemen paintmaster. (better on the Queen head) But this was not done to make her look more animated. Also there is not a new release planned at this time. This is a good example of fans reading a bit too much into things and drawing their own conclusions.

And WHAM ! Here's one more punch in the teeth of the fans !

Honestly, this kind of comment from Matty tends to push me away from the line... They are VERY lucky that a lot of us MOTU fans are really hardcore ! Other than that, MOTUC would have failed a long time ago.

2. zodak74:
It is quite exciting to see the multi-pack slot being used for something other than Army Builder sets. Now that we have Filmation figures coming up, would Mattel consider offering us Shokoti & Lord Masque as a two-pack subscription slot? Or perhaps something like Madame Razz, Broom & a Twigget or two as a multi-pack set? With so many Filmation characters, this would be a great way to get more out there in a shorter amount of time!

It certainly is possible. The army builder/beast slots are for doing creative executions above the 20.00 basic figure price point. A lot depends on tooling but we are exploring a lot of options.

I don't see anything wrong with any of the answers. Was the answer to Marlena's eyes evasive? Of course it is. I don't feel like I've been punched in the teeth though…and it's certainly not pushing me away from this line. Me stop buying the figures because I didn't like an answer? That'd kinda be like cutting off my nose to spite my face.

The army builder/beast slot answer was pretty good…seems as if the sky's the limit as far as figures go right now for Classics. Thank you TG and all those involved with answering questions every month for the fans. The amount of Q&As now is a VAST improvement from back in the 200X days.

We talked this over in detail with management and the Horsemen and while we knew this would cause some feedback from the fans, we all agreed that the Filmation announcement was so important to fans that we wanted a powerful visual to go with it.

This is just an example of Mattel's dishonesty. The most important visual in their head was the stack of money they thought Shadow Weaver would bring, yet they didn't even acknowledge it. Their lies of omission taint every communication from them. What good are Filmation rights when I have to fork over $500+ to get the most important Filmation figure? We would have all been soooo disappointed if they just announced the Filmation rights and that Shadow Weaver was coming sometime in 2012. So now many of us get a flipping picture but no figure. It's ludicrous that they pretend they were taking our wishes into consideration ("so important to the fans") in this answer. Thanks for giving us what we want Mattel, a picture of a $500 figure we've wanted for 25 years. Making Shadow Weaver the exclusive took much of the excitement out of the announcement; it surely didn't add to it.

An honest reply would be:

We talked this over in detail with management and the Horsemen and while we knew this would cause some feedback from the fans, we all agreed that the Filmation announcement was so important to fans that IF we GAVE THEM a powerful visual to go with it, THEY WOULD BUY A SUBSCRIPTION THAT THEY DIDN'T WANT.

Last edited by jibernish; September 2, 2011 at 12:35pm.
Reason: to show that the quote was from Mattel, not JVS3.

This is just an example of Mattel's dishonesty. The most important visual in their head was the stack of money they thought Shadow Weaver would bring, yet they didn't even acknowledge it. Their lies of omission taint every communication from them. What good are Filmation rights when I have to fork over $500+ to get the most important Filmation figure? We would have all been soooo disappointed if they just announced the Filmation rights and that Shadow Weaver was coming sometime in 2012. So now many of us get a flipping picture but no figure. It's ludicrous that they pretend they were taking our wishes into consideration ("so important to the fans") in this answer. Thanks for giving us what we want Mattel, a picture of a $500 figure we've wanted for 25 years. Making Shadow Weaver the exclusive took much of the excitement out of the announcement; it surely didn't add to it.

An honest reply would be:

We talked this over in detail with management and the Horsemen and while we knew this would cause some feedback from the fans, we all agreed that the Filmation announcement was so important to fans that IF we GAVE THEM a powerful visual to go with it, THEY WOULD BUY A SUBSCRIPTION THAT THEY DIDN'T WANT.

I said this when it was "leaked" that Shadow Weaver would be the Subscription figure...

When it comes to the subscriptions I don't think anything is by "mistake". In 2009 people were getting huffy about sell outs. Sooo 2010 subscriptions promise every monthly figure, buuuut they also introduced "bonus" figures. So, welcome back to the WSoD and 9 min sell outs. Matty, then said all figures except the ussual kind of quartly, SDCC, and other assorted special figures would be included in 2011. Good times! I think the negatives that drove the sell of subscriptions have run out and now they need something to REALLY grab new subscribers, what would to that better than arguably the most requested charater? This was no mistake. Matty, know what get fans drooling and opening wallets.

Will this lead to more Filmation charaters? I think with the recent re-release of the She-ra and He-man series Matty probably got another bite at the rights to some of those Filmation charaters. I would not be at all suprised if we see more than a couple Filmation charaters pop up.

I've been very happy with Wun-dar and the Pre-Eternia He-man. As cool as Shadow Weaver will be, I think sticking with a He-Man would have been better, maybe the Savage He-Man from the first minicom... kind of fits as an anniversary themed figure.

Will this lead to more Filmation charaters? I think with the recent re-release of the She-ra and He-man series Matty probably got another bite at the rights to some of those Filmation charaters. I would not be at all suprised if we see more than a couple Filmation charaters pop up.

There's a deal in place for Mattel to use any and all FILMation created characters, not just some ALL. I think we'll probably see more than just a couple more characters.

3. Staff Of Ka:
Were Marlenas cartoon eyes a homage to the Filmation rights? And will we get a MOTUC painted version of her eyes at some point?

Not in the least. The eyes were a bit less on model then we would have liked compared to the Horsemen paintmaster. (better on the Queen head) But this was not done to make her look more animated. Also there is not a new release planned at this time. This is a good example of fans reading a bit too much into things and drawing their own conclusions.

Originally Posted by Prahvus

And WHAM ! Here's one more punch in the teeth of the fans !

Not really, though thank you for at least not saying "slap in the face". People are always asking Mattel to be more "honest" and, it honestly is a "good example of fans reading a bit too much into things and drawing their own conclusions."

Honestly, this kind of comment from Matty tends to push me away from the line... They are VERY lucky that a lot of us MOTU fans are really hardcore ! Other than that, MOTUC would have failed a long time ago.

The rest of the answers was fine, in my opinion.

Oh come on! Are we really going to reach this far now to be offended? Geesh...

Originally Posted by nicholighkun

So I'm going to have to pay likely $100 or more for Shadow Weaver, so that Mattel could offer a "visual" to go with the announcment of Filmation rights?! Are you freaking KIDDING ME!!

Forget you Mattel.

No. You're paying for not buying the sub. And I'm guessing that nobody is pointing a gun to your head, forcing you to buy her.

Originally Posted by The Sorcerer

I've been very happy with Wun-dar and the Pre-Eternia He-man. As cool as Shadow Weaver will be, I think sticking with a He-Man would have been better, maybe the Savage He-Man from the first minicom... kind of fits as an anniversary themed figure.

Think about what you're saying. The goal is to sell more figures. Sub sales are what drives the majority of the cash flow for the line. Is another He-Man variant going to sell more subs? No. People that can't afford or won't afford to buy the subs are upset that Mattel chose to use Shadow Weaver as the sub. I get that. But, from Mattel's perspective -- a business perspective -- it is the right call. How many people are NOT buying the sub because of the Shadow Weaver exclusive? I'd bet it's far fewer than those that signed up for the sub because Shadow Weaver is the exclusive. If you were originally planning to purchase the sub, Shadow Weaver certainly didn't deter you. In general, if you're a selective buyer (sorry, but the term "cherry picker" is stupid), are you more or less likely to buy a sub? Probably more.

Originally Posted by Niki

Thanks, i honestly expected a lot of "Logistics" and "we will leave that to the Four Horsemen" answers but the answers are interesting and at least more foward than they are sometimes.

I even got two answers to my question. So, HEY iīm happy. And okay a buckle as example isnīt the most exciting example but itīs a start and i like that and lots of people like Icer!

I agree. Thank you for your work here and helping to keep us fans informed. Nice job!

Originally Posted by Prahvus

Not at all, since it was a simple QUESTION that was asked. It didn't contain any "conclusions"...

Yet, there was no problem for Mattel to slam the fans once again...

The conclusion regarding Marlena's eyes was the premise for the question, based on the assumption that the eyes were painted to reflect the cartoon. A more open-ended question would have asked, "why were Marlena's eyes painted as they were?"

It's really just semantics at this point. TG is absolutely right, many fans have speculated about the eyes and drawn their own conclusions about them -- many asserting that they were done in Filmation style.

If we want to get into semantics, are we really feeling "slammed" here? Is anyone really offended by what he is saying? I can't defend a lot of what Mattel and Digital River have said and done, but I think it is a reach to be upset about this one.

Originally Posted by Super He-Man

Not really, though thank you for at least not saying "slap in the face". People are always asking Mattel to be more "honest" and, it honestly is a "good example of fans reading a bit too much into things and drawing their own conclusions."

In 2010 half of you bemoaned the fact that you had to buy a sub to get Wun-Dar, and half of you were overjoyed that the sub exclusive was so unimportant to your collection and that you didn't need a sub...then most of you ended up loving him.

In 2011 3/4 of you thought PD He-Man was TOO obscure and unimportant, and were glad that he was only a sub exclusive because, really, who could possible want him...and then most of you ended up at least liking him.

And so, for 2012, you all finally get something that Mattel knows you will love...and suddenly Mattel is a villain.

Aaron
PoP Variants are part of the vintage line, too! Starburst She-Ra, Shower Power Catra, and Scratchin' Sound Catra for 2015!!!

Think about what you're saying. The goal is to sell more figures. Sub sales are what drives the majority of the cash flow for the line. Is another He-Man variant going to sell more subs? No. People that can't afford or won't afford to buy the subs are upset that Mattel chose to use Shadow Weaver as the sub. I get that. But, from Mattel's perspective -- a business perspective -- it is the right call. How many people are NOT buying the sub because of the Shadow Weaver exclusive? I'd bet it's far fewer than those that signed up for the sub because Shadow Weaver is the exclusive. If you were originally planning to purchase the sub, Shadow Weaver certainly didn't deter you. In general, if you're a selective buyer (sorry, but the term "cherry picker" is stupid), are you more or less likely to buy a sub? Probably more.

Yeah, it's a punch in the teeth, but it's not like Mattel doesn't get hurt at all. We're spitting blood, but they're cutting thier knuckles on our teeth. They do what needs to be done, and that's a comment that needs to be said. Many fans DO draw conclusions from really thin evidence. Heck, even more of them are absolutely certain that the conclusions they draw must be the correct answer, even against given answers from the source. Because, you know, a toy company has EVERYTHING TO GAIN from lying to people.

And hey, it's not like it's just MotU fans. This is all of the toy collecting community. They see something they don't like, and they assume that absolutely NO ONE could EVER make such a HUGE mistake like that and actually mean it! I mean, it's such an OBVIOUS mistake and in no way the toy collector's opinon! A toy collector's opinion is cold, hard fact, and there's no way you can convince them otherwise.

Honestly I think it's cool that a toy company is finally biting back. 'Bout time someone starts swinging for the teeth.

"Since you got here by not thinking, it seems reasonable to expect that, in order to get out, you must start thinking." ~ Tock, the Watchdog

Alexx has a blog?! Come on in and check out Toys and Tomfoolery! You won't regret it...until the next morning.

I'm getting the sub, so this wasn't gonna effect me. Now, I would've said that making Shadow Weaver as the club exclusive was unfair to those who selectively buy figures, and nothing wrong with that. But, you know what? It's the 30th Anniversary of the line in 2012. The MOTUC line has been going on strong since it debuted in Dec. 2008, and even though sub sales are significantly lower than past years' subs, the line is at a point where the subs have passed the minimum point where they are keeping the line alive without the need for on day sales. So, I think Shadow Weaver is the ultimate award to those who want everything. I'm sure Mattel didn't think sales would diminish with a figure such as SW, so if you think about it, would it have mattered which figure they put in? I know I was one of those people who didn't want another He-Man variant, so who ever the character would have been, someone would be disappointed.

In 2010 half of you bemoaned the fact that you had to buy a sub to get Wun-Dar, and half of you were overjoyed that the sub exclusive was so unimportant to your collection and that you didn't need a sub...then most of you ended up loving him.

In 2011 3/4 of you thought PD He-Man was TOO obscure and unimportant, and were glad that he was only a sub exclusive because, really, who could possible want him...and then most of you ended up at least liking him.

And so, for 2012, you all finally get something that Mattel knows you will love...and suddenly Mattel is a villain.

This is true.

As much as some people argue that Mattel is changing their stance all the time in order to lie to or "screw" the fans, it also seems like some fans will change their stance just so they can keep getting upset with whatever Mattel says or offers. Mattel will always be a villain in the eyes of some fans.